"Boss!"

Qi's eyes snapped open to the sound of Wuyou's voice, coupled with fists pounding the side of his head.

"Oh my." Qi pulled his arm, dripping with blood and saliva, away from Lingluo's dagger fangs. He wondered if there were more polite ways of waking somebody up.

"There are many, Boss," Lingluo gentle voice came from his side. "But none of them work for you. Even if a meteor fell from the heavens, you still wouldn't budge."

"Oh, and the time when his brother turned into a dragon and breathed in his face. Boss was still sleeping, even with no hair left."

The twins were technically Qi's pupils, but he considered them his children. They were barely a thousand years old, still got milk on their tongues. Wuyou liked taking naps. His shiny bald head reflected the afternoon sunlight like a mirror. Lingluo's horns curved around the side of her head in spirals, as a sheep would. The sweet girl had the demeanour of one too.

"Um..." Wuyou tapped Qi's shoulder. "You told us to wake you up at midnight."

The mission, right.

The moon shone directly over the angled roof the demons were standing on. The crisp moonlight illuminated the clay tiles with a silver sheen, like rows of fish scales. The moon looked the same where ever Qi went— the mortal realm, back home in the Mo realm. Tonight however, the porcelain ball in the sky will enjoy a bright shade of red.

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Both Tian and Mo—Heaven and Hell—laid claim to Qinliang's mortal realm. For thousands of years, the demons and demigods skirmished for total control, doing their best to avoid a full-blown war. The demons stayed in the North, while the demigods remained in the South.

Technically, the territory Qi and the twins were standing on belonged to the Tian realm. But not for long.

Wuyou hoisted up his pant crotch and jumped from one foot to another. "We've been waiting for hours. I have to piss."

The three demons waited since afternoon for this moment. They hid atop the roof of the estate, waiting as the daytime commotion died down. Most of an assassin's job involved watching in silence. Now as the chirping cicadas became audible again, the fun had arrived.

A man and woman walked along the stone-paved path leading up to the governor's chambers. Their faces were wrought with worry. "Go buy yourself something pretty, wife." The man said, handing her a jingling leather pouch. "Then go back to your mother for a few days. I wish to be alone."

Qi grinned at the all-too-familiar voice. Target locked.

The man's name was Niukui. He was the governor of Tongxiu Enclave, a sliver of landlocked Tian territory north of the Tian-Mo divide. Fertile and temperate, this territory should have belonged to the demons in the first place. A few days ago, Father had sent the executive order to reclaim it. In recent years, Father enacted a more aggressive foreign policy against the Heavens. The demons thirsted for war. Their blood roared in vengeance for their lost brethren. Assassinating Tongxiu Enclave's governor was naturally the first step.

"Maid, maid, light some incense please." The governor sniffed his pits. "It stinks of miasma in here."

Ever since becoming the governor of Tongxiu, Niukui did everything he could to hide his demon blood. His past connections with the Mo realm were a dirty little secret that only a few knew about. He dressed like the enemy demigods, in robes sewn with golden filaments, coupled with a filigree crown above his head. The phoenix— symbol of the Tian realm— was carved on his table, embroidered on his bedsheets, and even etched along the side of his chamber pot. He drew a Seer's Eye between his eyes every morning, a red circular birthmark that every true demigod had. He ate Southern food, drank their water, fucked their women. Anger rang in Qi's ears at the thought.

"What a dirty traitor," Wuyou unsheathed a dagger from his waist.

Lingluo put a hand to her heart. "This man rode alongside us for many years, he was once a loyal member of the Legion! Boss, maybe we should reconsider?"

Qi reached over to Lingluo and cupped her face. "No," he replied. He wished he could protect her forever from the scary things in this world. But being a God of Death was no skip in the meadows.

"You two, go fry this place to a crisp. Leave no survivors."

Wuyou nodded enthusiastically. Lingluo chewed her lip and did the same.